Pimpri-Chinchwad: From the start of this year, metro construction has been ongoing to extend the Purple Line of Pune Metro from Pimpri to Nigdi's Bhakti Shakti area. Due to this, heavy road damage has taken place in the area, raising citizen outrage. After this outrage, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) has told Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) that they will fully repair the roads, officials announced on Wednesday.
A PCMC official said that to do this, Maha Metro has requested PCMC and Pimpri-Chinchwad Police to temporarily close the road to traffic for a few days and reroute vehicles, saying once the road is closed for traffic, the permanent repair work will begin. PCMC and the police have to collaborate now to divert the traffic on service roads of the Old Mumbai–Pune Highway from Nigdi's Bhakti Shakti Chowk to Chinchwad Railway Station Chowk.
The Ongoing Metro Work Details
The metro extension from Pimpri to Nigdi is currently under construction. For this purpose, the PCMC handed over the 4.5-kilometre service road and BRT route from the Bhakti Shakti Chowk in Nigdi to Empire Estate in Chinchwad to Maha Metro. After deterioration of the road was raised again and again, PCMC officials maintained that the responsibility for the maintenance and repair of this road lies with Maha Metro. Metro work is currently underway on the Old Mumbai–Pune Highway service road, which involves digging up the road and BRT route to erect pillars and construct the viaduct.
To allow for unobstructed work, Maha Metro has installed safety barricades on the route, which has narrowed the service road significantly. Footpaths have also been torn up to create more road space.
Residents of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad use this route to go to Talegaon Dabhade and Lonavala in Maval Taluka, and this route also acts as a connection to the Mumbai–Pune Motorway. Due to this, the road has a heavy presence of vehicles.
Residents’ Woes Due To Deteriorated Roads
Suhas Karmarkar, a resident of Vadgaon Maval, said, "I use this road daily to come to my office in Chinchwad MIDC. The combination of the narrowed road, heavy vehicle traffic, and rain has led to many potholes on the road. During peak morning and evening hours, vehicles form long queues, and a journey that should take 10 minutes can now take over half an hour. My time is wasted here daily."
Just like this, many residents, social organisations, and public representatives voiced their concerns regarding this road, but still no action was taken. The PCMC also sent three letters to Maha Metro regarding the repairs, but as the Maha Metro administration did not respond, traffic continued to be forced onto the damaged roads. Now, Maha Metro has proposed that if traffic on the route is stopped for a few days, they will be able to permanently repair the roads.
Administration Promises Action
Maha Metro Managing Director Shravan Hardikar said, "The Nigdi to Chinchwad station route has heavy vehicle traffic. Even after repairing the roads, potholes frequently reappear due to the rain. We request that traffic on this route be diverted and stopped in phases for a few days. After that, this road will be made permanent and strong."
PCMC's Joint City Engineer Bapusaheb Gaikwad said, "The Maha Metro administration should inform us of the road repair timeline and coordinate with the traffic police. The PCMC administration will provide full cooperation in closing the traffic on the Nigdi to Chinchwad station route."
